


Shy

by Reader Inserts (Bulletproof_love)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes Remembers, F/M, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Shy, The Winter Soldier - Freeform, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, deprogramming, mcu - Freeform, winter soldier - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-06-21 16:40:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15561999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bulletproof_love/pseuds/Reader%20Inserts
Summary: You and Bucky see each other again for the first time during his recovery.





	Shy

 You had been watching Bucky for a while now, for longer than perhaps even you would like to admit. You were used to standing in the shadows, you tell yourself over and over again this time shouldn’t feel any different but it does. Bucky is not a target that you are surveilling, he’s a man in recovery. You know that, after all you’ve been monitoring his progress discreetly for months.

     Things were complicated between the two of you at best, you loved him and you knew that he loved you but after the last time The Soldier had come out…

    You had simply been another blockade in his way. You were resilient but cracked ribs and a fractured radius had kept you out of rotation for a while. Even the bruises had taken a long time to heal.

    When he was himself again Bucky could barely stand to look at you. You knew that he remembered exactly what he had done under Zemo’s control, that he would have killed you if Natasha hadn’t intervened.

    His decision to go back on ice wasn’t one that you could challenge, you could see how much the guilt from his most recent period as The Soldier crushed him. Before Zemo there had been hope, a light in his eyes because he believed the worst was over, that everyone involved in The Winter Soldier program was gone and he could heal and learn to live with himself.

    After Zemo, that light had died.

    Seeing Bucky so withdrawn killed you. He had come so far over the past few years leading up to the events you personally deemed ‘Civil War’ and then all that progress had been destroyed. You were there, alongside Steve when they put him under. It wasn’t a ‘goodbye’ Bucky had told you as he clasped your hand, squeezing your fingers gently, it was ‘I’ll see you later.’

    Even now, watching him at a small distance your heart ached with longing. You had been giving him space, allowing him to recover without the burden of your relationship hanging over his head. He looked better these days, happier and healthier. His movements weren’t hampered by the constant weight of the world on his shoulders, his motions instead were more carefree, he held his head up high while he walked instead of keeping it downcast.

    You had talked with Shuri at great length about the deprogramming process, you wanted to know as much of the details as possible, to help in any way you could. She had explained that although Bucky still maintained his memories and she empathized ‘all of them’, The Winter Soldier was well and truly gone. The words that Zemo and countless others before him, had used to control him held no power anymore. She told you that Bucky had begged her to test the validity of the claim after he had been brought out of cryo. He had been elated when he had remained himself.

    “You feeling shy doll?” Bucky drawled, tilting his head towards you so you could see the profile of his handsome features.

    Over the past couple of months he had grown a beard, it lined the planes of his chiseled features giving him a roguish look. The light of the dying sun cascaded across his dark hair, revealing strands of a lighter hue. He was clad in a red, traditional Wakandan style robe, revealing the tanned slope of his muscular shoulder.

    You felt your lips tugging up into a small smile as you stepped out from the shelter that the small wooden hut afforded and into the remnants of the dying light.

    “A little.” you admitted, feeling the heat flush to your cheeks as his bright blue eyes met yours.

    Standing here before him, Bucky didn’t think he had ever laid eyes on something as beautiful as you. Although it had been over a year since he had actually seen you in person, the way he felt for you hadn’t changed. There was still that deep, vibrant connection thrumming inside of him, stronger than ever and he knew from the way that blush of pink crept up the curve of your cheek that you felt the same way.

    It was him that made the first move, he stepped forward into your personal space, his hand slipping into your own perfectly, like it had always resided there. You inhaled at the familiar sensation, you hadn’t expected it and when he touched you…

    It was like the two of you were in a world of your own.

     “I missed you.” You found yourself whispering as Bucky’s beautiful blue eyes fixed on yours. You could see that rare smile of his peaking at the edges of his mouth as he pressed his forehead gently against yours.

    “I missed you too, doll.”


End file.
